The Naked Scientists
  • Login
  • Register
  • Podcasts
      • The Naked Scientists
      • eLife
      • Naked Genetics
      • Naked Astronomy
      • In short
      • Naked Neuroscience
      • Ask! The Naked Scientists
      • Question of the Week
      • Archive
      • Video
      • SUBSCRIBE to our Podcasts
  • Articles
      • Science News
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Answers to Science Questions
  • Get Naked
      • Donate
      • Do an Experiment
      • Science Forum
      • Ask a Question
  • About
      • Meet the team
      • Our Sponsors
      • Site Map
      • Contact us

User menu

  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Help
  • Search
  • Tags
  • Recent Topics
  • Login
  • Register
  1. Naked Science Forum
  2. Life Sciences
  3. The Environment
  4. We all know of double rainbows, but what's a triple rainbow like?
« previous next »
  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Down

We all know of double rainbows, but what's a triple rainbow like?

  • 1 Replies
  • 9517 Views
  • 3 Tags

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Lewis Thomson (OP)

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • 271
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 3 times
  • Naked Science Forum Newbie
We all know of double rainbows, but what's a triple rainbow like?
« on: 06/09/2022 15:11:25 »
Thomas is curious to find answers to this question that he submitted.

"On a rainbow red is on the outside, violet on the inside. Why is it the other way on the second rainbow (second reflection in the waterdrop)? How would the third rainbow look like?

Discuss your findings in the comments below...
Logged
 



Offline Zer0

  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • ******
  • 1932
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 232 times
  • Email & Nickname Alerts Off! P.M. Blocked!
Re: We all know of double rainbows, but what's a triple rainbow like?
« Reply #1 on: 06/10/2022 14:40:35 »
The second and more faint rainbow is called the secondary rainbow. It occurs when refracted light does not escape the raindrop after being reflected the first time.

Instead, the refracted light reflects off the raindrop's surface a second time as well, producing a secondary rainbow with its colors reversed compared to the primary rainbow.
Unfortunately, fewer light rays are available to undergo the additional refraction process, so the resulting secondary rainbow appears less vivid.

Theoretically, triple and even quadruple rainbows are possible, depending on how many times refracted light is reflected within a rainbow. These additional rainbows are much more rare, since the concentration of light rays available for reflection and refraction decreases with each optical process.

Source - https://weather.com/science/news/skywatching-double-rainbow-20130513

P.S. - 🌈
Logged
1N73LL1G3NC3  15  7H3  481L17Y  70  4D4P7  70  CH4NG3.
 



  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »
Tags: rainbows  / colour spectrum  / shades of colour 
 
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
  • SMF 2.0.15 | SMF © 2017, Simple Machines
    Privacy Policy
    SMFAds for Free Forums
  • Naked Science Forum ©

Page created in 1.097 seconds with 32 queries.

  • Podcasts
  • Articles
  • Get Naked
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe to newsletter
  • We love feedback

Follow us

cambridge_logo_footer.png

©The Naked Scientists® 2000–2017 | The Naked Scientists® and Naked Science® are registered trademarks created by Dr Chris Smith. Information presented on this website is the opinion of the individual contributors and does not reflect the general views of the administrators, editors, moderators, sponsors, Cambridge University or the public at large.